Gladstone Harbour Festival is bringing the community a jam-packed program that is sure to entertain. Opening on Wednesday 1st April with the new look Talent Quest and finishing with the Festival Finale on Easter Sunday 5th April, the Harbour Festival highlights also include five nights of free entertainment, rides, fireworks and all of your favourite events - just in time for Easter!

Metro Hotel & Apartments Gladstone are located in the heart of Gladstone - the ideal base to enjoy the festival.

Our hotel is also a great base from which to access many local sights and attractions including the Port Curtis Yacht Club, the aquatic centre, the art gallery and museum, botanical gardens, marina, and a variety of tours to the Gecko Valley Winery, Spinnaker Park and East Shores Water Park, Awoonga Dam, Tannum Sands Beach or take in a show at the Gladstone Entertainment Centre, located just next door!

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

Earth Hour launched in Sydney in 2007, with 2.2 million people and 2,100 businesses participating in the ‘lights off’ event. Just one year later, Earth Hour became a global phenomenon with over 35 countries participating, and an estimated 50-100 million people.

In 2014, Earth Hour was celebrated in over 162 countries and over 7000 cities and towns worldwide. The symbolic hour has grown into the world’s largest grassroots movement for the environment, with beyond the hour projects and initiatives happening throughout the year.

Earth Hour is a great home-grown success story: an Aussie campaign designed to draw attention to tackling global warming and get people talking about what we can do to help.

In Australia, Earth Hour is something that really brings communities together, with 1 in every 3 Aussies taking part.

At Metro Hotel on Pitt, we are starting a corporate responsibility program that will entail us committing ourselves to being a part of the wider community in a socially or environmentally responsible way.

We will be joining in Earth Hour by getting our main lobby area as dark as can be feasibly managed. We’re inviting you to once again join in the action as we throw our support behind Aussie food and farmers.

We grew up with healthy, homegrown food and we all want our children to have the same opportunity. But our food is already being affected by global warming. This includes everything from the bananas we enjoy on our breakfast cereal every morning and our avocado and Vegemite on toast, to our lunchtime ham, cheese, tomato and lettuce wrap, and spaghetti bolognese - our dinnertime favourite.

Landmarks from all over the world - from Paris' Eiffel Tower to Sydney's Harbour Bridge to the Seattle Space Needle will dim their lights on Saturday 28th of March, as people around the world mark Earth Hour with candlelight and barbecues.

The 60-minute annual campaign organised by conservation group WWF encourages citizens, communities, businesses and organisations to switch the lights off for an hour from 8:30pm to highlight the plight of planet Earth.

Now in its ninth year, Earth Hour's goal is not to achieve measurable electricity savings, but to raise awareness of the need for sustainable energy use, and this year also to demand action to halt planet-harming climate change.

'Over 170 countries and territories have already confirmed their participation; more than 1200 landmarks and close to 40 UNESCO world heritage sites,' Earth Hour head Sudhanshu Sarronwala told AFP.

These range from the Christ the Redeemer statue in Rio de Janeiro, the Acropolis in Athens, Edinburgh Castle, Big Ben, Ecuador's Quito historical centre and New York's Times Square.

Earth Hour 2015 takes place just months before UN member states are meant to sign an ambitious pact in Paris in December to limit galloping global warming, and just days before a loose end-March deadline for 'those parties ready to do so' to submit their carbon-curbing pledges.

From a small, symbolic event held in Sydney in 2007, Earth Hour has grown to a global campaigning event with a festive twist.

This year will include a glow-in-the-dark Zumba party in the Philippines, a co-ordinated candlelit dinner in Finland billed as the world's largest, restaurant dinners by candlelight in London, and a power-generating dance floor to light up the Eiffel Tower after its hour-long sleep, said WWF.

The organisers published a list of ideas for individual participants, which included barbecuing instead of stove cooking, a candle-lit street party or a picnic under the stars.

An estimated nine million people in 162 countries took part in Earth Hour last year, according to the WWF, of whom 85 per cent 'said that they felt inspired to do more to protect the planet, such as making small changes to live more sustainably and reduce their impact on the environment.'

When: 8:30pm - 9:30pm on Saturday the 28th of March 2015

When it’s Earth Hour, turn your lights off, light a few candles and spend an hour with friends and family. Enjoy dinner and discussion with your friends, and why not tell your friends what you’re up to? Take photos of your group and upload them to social media!Send Earth Hour a photo of your gathering on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram so they can help you tell the world that you care about climate change and protecting Aussie food and farming. Using the hash tag #EarthHour, #AppetiteForChange, when posting photos online will instantly link them to their website. Earth Hour official website: www.earthhour.org

Thursday, March 5, 2015

We stayed in this hotel for 3 nights. It is centrally located, a 10 minute walk to the train station, within walking distance of the Casino, the Bridge and the river ferries, plus within walking to the Museum area. The food in the hotel pub was very good, staff were friendly and helpful and the room was more then adequate. It is on a hill though, if you have knee problems, this could be a factor in your comfort, but the free circle city bus stops right outside the hotel.

The Panorama and City lights function rooms are the venues where your reception will be hosted and a site visit appointment is recommended so you may view the property and rooms, and be fully briefed about our facilities.

Metro Hotel Perth is located a few minutes walk from the picturesque Swan River foreshore and only 10 minutes from the Central Business District of Perth.

Thursday, February 26, 2015

I stayed in a superior river view room over Christmas and the new year. The rooms are a good size and were given a reasonable renovation three or four years ago. There is a small balcony and the views over Perth are magnificent. With weekend and off peak room rates between $129 - $179 they are good value. The hotel is well managed with friendly staff.

Room Tip: Superior or executive river view rooms are great. The budget eastern rooms or the lower floors are n...

I've stayed at Metro hotel a few times. My initial visit was booked through work and I'm always a but worried when we have no choice in where we stay. However I was, and since have been, pleased with all aspects of our stay. The front reception staff are polite and always welcoming. Yes u do have to give over id on check in but this seems to be common practice nowadays and I have no problem with this.The location is great with easy access to the city and nearby coffee shops. Onsite parking is free and convenient. Rooms are a great size and have amazing views if you manage to get one with views of the river and city.I regularly fly to perth and will now be requesting metro accommodation from work and will also book here for leisure stays.